10 Ways A Country Wedding Is Different Than Other Weddings

My sister Courtney married her sweetheart Riley last Friday. The wedding was picture-perfect, and as I watched these two exchange their I-dos, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist sharing a few of the finer details from the special day on the blog.

After the wedding, we received many comments from the reception staff and crew about the uniqueness of the wedding. Perhaps to an outsider looking in, a ranch wedding could appear quite different from a more urban wedding, but these events seem quite normal to me! After thinking things over a little bit, I decided to enumerate the ways that a cowboy wedding might differ from the norm. Here are 10 ways my sister’s wedding, and others I’ve attended, might have looked a little redneck from the outside looking in:

1. Starched jeans and cowboy hats were the most popular attire for the guys, and the bride and bridesmaids wore cowboy boots with their dresses.

2. The priest offered advice to the bride and groom on raising a “herd” of their own, and discussed how cattle roam in pairs and groups, just like the newlyweds are now a pair.

3. The wedding dance isn’t complete without the garter auction, with the money being collected in cowboy hats.

4. Beef has to be on the menu for the rehearsal supper and reception. Chicken just wouldn’t be acceptable for a rancher’s wedding.

5. Wedding mints are in the shape of cattle, but you can bet they still taste just as good as mints shaped like hearts and wedding bells.

7. Although I wasn’t able to stand as matron of honor at my sister’s wedding, due to being 39 weeks pregnant, many of the guests asked if I was “ready to calve?” It seems like a perfectly appropriate question to me; but such a question, in other circles, would probably be received as an insult.

8. My sister and her groom met on a 4-H trip to Washington, D.C. We joked that the “Hs” in 4-H stood for “head, heart, hands and health,” and not “husband,” but that works, too!

10. Forget the fancy china dishes! The other favorite presents the couple received included a painting of a steer and two cowhide rugs.

What are your favorite parts of a country wedding? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. And if you’d care to share your special day with BEEF Daily readers, send us your ranch wedding photos to me at [email protected] Thanks for your participation.

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of Beefmagazine.com or the Penton Farm Progress Group.